When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.Credit: NASAAstronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) completed a change-of-command ceremony today (Jan. 12) ahead of the early departure of SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission, which is leaving soon due to an undisclosed medical condition concerning one of its crewmembers.The decision to cut the Crew-11 mission short came Friday (Jan. 9), after a planned spacewalk the previous day had to be canceled due to “medical concerns.” NASA did not reveal details about the situation, including which astronaut was experiencing the issue, due to privacy concerns, but quickly put plans into motion after making the decision to end the crew’s rotation early in the first-ever medical evacuation in ISS history.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCrew-11 is scheduled to depart the ISS on Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 14), riding SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour back to Earth for a Pacific Coast splashdown early Thursday morning (Jan. 15). Before they leave, however, command (and the symbolic key) of the orbital lab needs to be transferred from NASA astronaut Mike Fincke to Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov — and that’s what happened today.NASA astronaut Mike Fincke (bottom left), commander of Expedition 74 on the International Space Station and Crew-11 pilot, hands control of the station over to Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (bottom right) during a change of command ceremony on Jan. 12, 2026. | Credit: NASAThe seven astronauts of the ISS’ current Expedition 74 gathered in the Japanese laboratory module for the occasion, floating behind Fincke and Kud-Sverchkov as each made remarks. “It’s bittersweet,” Fincke said during the livestreamed ceremony, before passing the microphone around so other crewmembers could share fond memories of the departing astronauts.”We’re leaving you all with a lot of work, but also with a lot of knowledge knowing that you guys are really going to do super well,” Fincke said after getting the microphone back, presenting the large metal “key” to the ISS to Kud-Sverchkov. “Sergey, it’s an honor and a pleasure to be a commander, and I cannot imagine being happier than to hand over command to you.”Crew-11 is scheduled to undock from the ISS Wednesday afternoon. Hatch closing and departure coverage is set to begin on Wednesday at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), with departure set for 5 p.m. EST (220 …
